Unified payment and return on investment system

ABSTRACT

The unified payment system, product and method provide an effective and efficient way to better communicate to a merchant the value of running a promotion and determine a deal structure that works for the merchant, the customer, the promotion system, or any combination thereof. The unified payment system, product and method provide real-time ROI calculations that a merchant and sales representative can collaboratively simultaneously work on to identify a deal structure for the merchant to select. In this way, the merchant and sales representative may arrive at a mutually acceptable payment plan.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/682,762, filed Aug. 13, 2012, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present description relates to an effective and efficient way tobetter communicate the value to a merchant of running a transaction,such as a promotion, and determine a transaction structure that isconducive to the goals of the merchant, the customer, the promotionsystem, or any combination thereof. This description more specificallyrelates to how to provide real-time ROI calculations that a merchant andsales representative may collaboratively and simultaneously work on toidentify a transaction structure for the merchant to select.

BACKGROUND

Promotion and marketing services often work with merchants to identifypromotions to offer to potential customers. By developing appropriatepromotions, merchants may increase profit, a promotion and marketingservice may generate revenue, and customers may find new and interestinggoods and/or services at discount prices.

After offering a promotion on behalf of a merchant, the promotion andmarketing service may distribute revenue to the merchant for promotionssold to customers. However, when a customer seeks a refund of apromotion, the merchant may not be owed any money for the refundedpromotion. In order to account for potential refunds, the promotion andmarketing service may pay merchants less than what is fully owed. Ifthere are refunds, the promotions system reduces the outstanding amountdue to the merchant by the merchant's share of the refunded revenue (or,in the case of a merchant that has already been paid the entire amountdue or that has an outstanding amount due to the promotion and marketingservice, the reduction is carried over into another session: the nextpromotion).

Applicant has identified deficiencies and problems associated with theuse of these systems. As described in detail below, Applicant has solvedthese identified problems by developing a solution that is embodied bythe present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The above-described promotion identification process is often ad hoc andmay not always optimize the potential value to the various parties frompromotions. Similarly, the above-described payment scheme exposes thepromotion and marketing service to considerable risk if the amount ofmoney withheld from merchants is not calculated appropriately, which canresult in a lot of outstanding inventory. For example, if the merchantgoes out of business, the promotion and marketing service may have topay back all of the customers that purchased the promotion.

The unified payment and Return on Investment (ROI) system overcomesthese challenges. The promotions system generates a real-time ROI asoutput for one or more promotions, to optimize the selection ofpromotions during negotiation between merchants and a promotion andmarketing service. The system includes a communications interfaceconfigured to receive inputs indicative of one or more attributes of thepromotion, an upsell amount exceeding a value of the promotion, and oneor more indicators of repeat business in response to the promotion, anda processor in communication with the interface.

The system provides a better way to communicate the value to merchantsof running a promotion and arrive at a deal structure that works forboth the merchant and the promotion and marketing service. The systemavoids sub-optimal deals for merchants that result from the merchant'slack of understanding. The real-time ROI calculation tool allowsmerchants and sales representatives to collaboratively work at the sametime with common visual representation, synchronized so that people canwork on the tool at the same time. A sales representative candynamically lock or unlock certain fields from merchant manipulation,may allow off-line merchant manipulation of the tool, and may enable theuse of predictive wizards, analytics/demographic information, andsimilar promotions to help arrive at a deal structure. The real-time ROIcalculation tool provides a similar view on the sales representative'sside as the merchant's side, so that changes made on either side areimmediately reflected by both the sales representative's side and themerchant's side. The sales representative may decide to lock certainfields to prevent a merchant from editing. The system also notifies thesales representative when a merchant opens and edits the ROI criteria.

The unified payment and ROI system further protects promotion andmarketing services from potential exposure to unsecured monetary risk.Embodiments of the payment mechanism includes the following:effectively, when a sale is made in a particular period of time, thepromotion and marketing service may hold back a certain configurablepercentage of the revenue received from selling vouchers for promotions(such as 25%), so that there's a buffer in the bank. When the vouchersexpire, the payment and marketing service may distribute the associatedrevenue that has been held back. The holdback amount may depend onwhether the amount in the buffer is static or dynamic, and the amountmay be based on the status of the underlying vouchers (e.g., whetherthey have expired).

The new payment mechanism is flexible, simple and easy to explain tomerchants, applicable to various products, and accounts for risk(refund, out-of-business, bad merchants, fraud). The new paymentmechanism is as attractive to merchants as the current payment grid,takes advantage of automation (transparent Merchant Center), provides abackwards compatible architecture, accommodates promotions with nopredetermined ending, is cash flow neutral (e.g., if possible, butmerchant benefits may outweigh), and provides the ability to pay formultiple promotions in a single transaction.

The payment mechanism may make initial calculation assumptions. Forinstance, initial payments may be disbursed to merchants a predeterminedtime (e.g., seven days) after the start of a feature period; payment forsubsequently purchased vouchers may be forwarded on a recurring basis(e.g., the 1st and 16th of each month); and additionally, holdbackpayments for expired vouchers may be paid in the first recurring paymentdate after expiration of the vouchers (when these assumptions are nottrue, the average days until complete payment may be higher).Accordingly, with vouchers expiring after 180 days, 80% of the merchantshare of the voucher revenue will be received by the merchant with onlynominal delay, and 20% of the merchant share will be received by themerchant upon expiration of the vouchers (i.e., after 180 days), whichresults in complete payment for each voucher in an average of 36 days;with vouchers expiring after 90 days, there will be complete payment foreach voucher in an average of 18 days. Accordingly, the paymentmechanism provides business benefits, including: better merchantexperience, the removal of volume caps on a deal meter, the ability tohave a perpetual contract (with multiple feature periods),inventory-based payment rather than merchandising (feature periods),applicability to new products, and greater consistency of payments tomerchants (rather than sending lots of payments on a seemingly randomschedule).

Controls or risk management monitored and reserve calculation is updatedand documented to reflect inclusion of the new terms and the calculationreflects the scope of deployment of the new terms. The system maydynamically determine and adjust the amount to withhold based on thelength of redemption period, the velocity of redemptions/refunds,industry trends, the category of the promotion, and the merchant'sprevious performance. The system may perform withholding analysis beforepaying the merchant.

An initial payment may be forwarded to a merchant a configurable numberof days following the start of the feature period. Thereafter, paymentswill be forwarded to the merchant on a recurring basis (e.g., on the 1stand 16th of each month). For example, each payment may consist of eightypercent (80%) of the total remittance amount collected from the previousperiod. After the voucher's promotional value expiration, the remainingtwenty percent (20%), less any other refunds, shall be included with thenext recurring payment to the merchant. Three easy-to-understand waysare used to tune the process according to the product: using the paymentschedule, using the net percentage rules, and using the event rules.

The merchant is informed that, for example, seven days after themerchant's campaign feature period begins, the merchant may expect toreceive a first payment for 80% of sales. Then twice a month themerchant will receive a payment for 80% of additional sales for theperiod. The merchant will receive the remaining 20% for each period,less any other refunds, when the vouchers sold in that period expire.

Other systems, methods, and features will be, or will become, apparentto one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figuresand detailed description. It is intended that all such additionalsystems, methods, features and be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The system, method and product may be better understood with referenceto the following drawings and description. Non-limiting andnon-exhaustive descriptions are described with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles. Inthe figures, like referenced numerals may refer to like parts throughoutthe different figures unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 shows an example graphical user interface for merchants inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an example revenue and profit impact control interface forsales representatives in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 2 a shows merchant share of revenue calculation.

FIG. 2 b shows merchant share of revenue and revenue from additionalspend calculation.

FIG. 2 c shows merchant share of revenue, revenue from additional spendand repeat customer revenue calculation.

FIG. 2 d shows revenue and costs according to the merchant share,additional spend and repeat customer activity.

FIG. 3 shows a display interface for a mobile device.

FIG. 3 a shows another display interface for a mobile device.

FIG. 3 b shows one other display interface for a mobile device.

FIG. 3 c illustrates an example graphical user interface for a merchant,showing demographic information relating to a promotion.

FIG. 3 d illustrates an example graphical user interface for a merchant,showing customer survey information relating to a promotion.

FIG. 3 e illustrates an example graphical user interface for a merchant,showing revenue, cost, and profit information regarding a promotion.

FIG. 3 f illustrates an example graphical user interface that a merchantmay use to update the marginal cost of a promotion.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the ROI system.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of logic of how the merchant revenue iscalculated.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of logic of how the merchant cost iscalculated.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of logic of how the merchant profit iscalculated.

FIG. 7 a shows a flow diagram of example operations used by the paymentsystem to schedule and distribute funds to a merchant.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration of the unified payment and ROI system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.Not all of the depicted components may be required, however, and someimplementations may include additional, different, or fewer components.Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forthherein. Additional, different or fewer components may be provided.

DEFINITIONS

As used herein, a promotion may include, but is not limited to, any typeof offered, presented or otherwise indicated reward, discount, coupon,credit, deal, incentive, discount, media or the like that is indicativeof a promotional value or the like that upon purchase or acceptanceresults in the issuance of an instrument that may be used toward atleast a portion of the purchase of particular goods, services and/orexperiences defined by the promotion. An example promotion, using arunning company as the example merchant, is $25 for $50 toward runningshoes. In some examples, the promotion defines an accepted value (e.g.,a cost to purchase the promotion), a promotional value (e.g., the valueof the resultant instrument beyond the accepted value), a residual value(e.g., the value upon return or upon expiry of one or more redemptionparameters), one or more redemptions parameters and/or the like. Forexample, using the running company promotion as an example, the acceptedvalue is $25 and the promotional value is $50. In this example, theresidual value may be equal to the accepted value.

As used herein, a promotion and marketing service may include a servicethat is accessible via one or more computing devices and is operable toprovide example promotion and/or marketing services on behalf of one ormore providers that are offering one or more instruments that areredeemable for goods, services, experiences and/or the like. Thepromotion and marketing service is further configured to illustrate orotherwise inform one or more consumers of the availability of one ormore instruments in the form of one or more impressions. In someexamples, the promotion and marketing service may also take the form ofa redemption authority, a payment processor, a rewards provider, anentity in a financial network, a promoter, an agent and/or the like. Assuch, the service is, in some example embodiments, configured to presentone or more promotions via one or more impressions, accept payments forpromotions from consumers, issue vouchers upon acceptance of an offer,participate in redemption, generate rewards, provide a point of saledevice or service, issue payments to providers and/or or otherwiseparticipate in the exchange of goods, services or experiences forcurrency, value and/or the like. The service may additionally processrefund requests received from consumers who have been issued vouchers.For example, using the aforementioned running company promotion, acustomer who has paid the service $25 for a voucher, may subsequentlyrequest a refund of the residual value of the promotion in conjunctionwith returning and/or otherwise invalidating the voucher. The promotionand marketing service may accordingly credit $25 to the customer andensure that the voucher is destroyed and/or otherwise invalidated.

As used herein, a voucher may include, but is not limited to, any typeof gift card, tender, electronic certificate, medium of exchange, or thelike that embodies the terms of the promotion from which the voucherresulted and may be used toward at least a portion of the purchase,acquisition, procurement, consumption or the like of goods, servicesand/or experiences. In some examples, the voucher may take the form oftender that has a given value that is exchangeable for goods, servicesand/or experiences and/or a reduction in a purchase price of aparticular good, service or experience. In some examples, the vouchermay have multiple values, such as accepted value, a promotional valueand/or a residual value. For example, using the aforementioned exampleof a running company, the promotional value may be received as anelectronic indication in a mobile application that shows $50 to spend atthe running company. In some examples, the accepted value of the voucheris defined by the value exchanged for the voucher. In some examples, thepromotional value is defined by the promotion from which the voucherresulted and is the value of the voucher beyond the accepted value. Insome examples, the residual value is the value after redemption, thevalue after the expiry or other violation of a redemption parameter, thereturn or exchange value of the voucher and/or the like.

As used herein, an impression may include a communication, a display, orother perceived indication, such as a flyer, print media, e-mail, textmessage, application alert, mobile applications, other type ofelectronic interface or distribution channel and/or the like, of one ormore promotions. For example, using the aforementioned running companyas the example provider, an impression may comprise an e-mailcommunication sent to consumers that indicates the availability of a $25for $50 toward running shoes promotion.

Overview

A merchant typically has several venues in which to offer the sale ofthe merchants' product or service. One such venue is a website, whichmay assist the sale of the product or service offered by the merchant.However, it may be difficult for the merchant to determine the impact tothe merchant's business of using the website. To assist in determiningthe impact, a Return On Investment (ROI) system may be used. The ROIsystem, illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4, may be a server-basedsystem configured to receive input from multiple sources, such as from amerchant computing device and a sales representative computing device,in order to determine the impact of using the website.

For example, each of the merchant computing device and the salesrepresentative computing device may access the server-based ROI systemin order to receive a revenue and profit impact (RPI) control interface100 (discussed in more detail in FIG. 1). The merchant, via the merchantcomputing device, and the sales representative for the website, via thesales representative computing device, may input different parametersrelevant to the impact of the website assisting in the transaction. Inturn, the ROI system is configured to receive the input from thedifferent parties, and push the RPI of the website transaction to themerchant computing device and the website-representative computingdevice. In this way, the merchant and the sales representative may bothcontribute to the determination of the impact of the website assistingin the transaction. Further, because one, some, or all of the parametersrelevant to the impact of the website assisting in the transaction arechangeable, the merchant and the sales representative may change variousparameters to iteratively determine the impact.

The ROI system may be integrated with different systems of the website.For example, the ROI system may communicate with a historical databaseillustrating historical data of previous transactions. The ROI systemmay access the historical database in order to populate one or moreparameters relevant to the impact of the website assisting in thetransaction. As another example, the ROI system may communicate with awebpage database, which may store data to generate webpages. Morespecifically, after the merchant and the website representative agree onthe terms of the transaction, the ROI system may access the webpagedatabase, generate a webpage using the webpage database and the agreedterms of the transaction, and present the generated webpage to themerchant, via the merchant computing device, and to the websiterepresentative, via the website representative computing device. The ROIsystem may, in turn, receive input (such as changes) to the generatedwebsite from the merchant or the website representative.

FIG. 1 shows a Revenue and Profit Impact (RPI) control interface 100generated by the ROI system and also referred to as a return oninvestment (ROI) calculator for merchants. The system may generate amerchant view (as shown in FIG. 1) and a sales representative view (asshown in FIG. 2). As discussed above, the RPI control interface 100illustrates the revenue and profit impact of using the website to assistin the merchant transaction.

As one example, the transaction may comprise a promotion facilitated bythe website. In particular, the transaction may comprise a promotion inthe form of a Groupon® voucher, example terms of which are illustratedin FIG. 1, from the perspective of the merchant. The terms shown in FIG.1 are for illustration only, and other types of transactions arecontemplated.

The RPI control interface 100 illustrates one or more parameters relatedto the promotions. For example, the RPI control interface 100illustrates “Your Groupon Check” 102 selectable criteria, including theaverage check amount for two individuals 104, Groupon (voucher) Price106, (Avg) Groupon value 108, customers per voucher 110, unit cap 112and merchant share 114. The RPI control interface 100 provides“Additional Spend” selectable criteria 116 that includes upsell 118,“Repeat Customers” selectable criteria 120 that includes return ratepercentage 122 and return visits per year 124, and “Merchant Costs” 126selectable criteria that includes food cost percentage 128. The fieldsillustrated in FIG. 1 are merely for illustration purposes.

The various fields in FIG. 1 may be fixed or may be changeable via inputfrom the merchant or sales representative. Initial entries in thevarious fields may be based on a past promotion offered by the merchant,or may be individual preselected by the sales representative. Theinitial entries may instead be randomly generated or may be generatedbased on entries that are historically common for similarly situatedmerchants (e.g., merchants having a similar merchant type, size,service, location etc.). In yet another alternative, the fields may beinitially left blank initially, and are only filled in during an actualnegotiation between the merchant and the sales representative. As shownin FIG. 1, for example, various fields are in gray, indicating thatthose fields have been locked by the sales representative and are notchangeable by merchant input. In particular, fields 106, 108, 114 areillustrated in gray. By contrast, fields 104, 110, 112, 118, 122, 124,and 128, which are not grayed out, may be changed by the merchant. Inthis way, merchant input may be used to change various fields to betterillustrate the potential effects of offering the promotion. For example,the return rate 122 may initially be populated with a predeterminedpercentage based on historical analysis of previous promotions.Thereafter, the return rate 122 may be changed via user input. In thisway, the RPI control interface 100 may be used iteratively to determinethe potential effect of offering the promotion program.

The average check for two 104 identifies the average amount a singleparty of customers spends at a merchant's business in a single visit.The Groupon Price 106 identifies the amount at which a Groupon customerwill purchase the merchant's offer. As one example, Groupon may offer atleast a 50% discount of the average retail value to attract newcustomers to the merchant's business. The (Avg) Groupon Value 108identifies the promotional amount a customer receives toward thepurchase of specified goods or services at the merchant's. Forpromotions related to experiences, this is the amount a customertypically spends for items included in the experience. TheCustomers/Groupon 110 identifies the average size of a party for asingle visit (e.g., 3 out of 4 merchants report that Groupon customersbring friends when redeeming their Groupon voucher). For experiences,this represents the number of customers who will participate in theexperience. The Unit Cap 112 identifies the number of units that Grouponcan sell over the duration of a promotion campaign. Based on previoushistory, it is estimated that approximately 20% of units will beredeemed in each of the first and last months of the campaign, with acontinuous stream of redemptions in the intervening months. The MerchantShare 114 identifies the revenue that the merchant may expect to receivefrom a Groupon. The merchant receives payment shortly after themerchant's offer is purchased, so that the payment can be used to helppay down costs associated with producing the merchant's offer.

The Merchant Share 114, which may otherwise be known as the providermargin, may be manually entered or may be automatically calculated bythe ROI system based on one or more of the following values: ahistorical information margin that compares reviews of the merchant toreviews of similar merchants; a provider profile margin, taking intoaccount a merchant quality score; a promotion structure margin, whichtakes into account the size of the discount, the Unit Cap 112,historical margins, and margins for similar discounts and units; or apositive ROI margin, which identifies a minimum margin that provides themerchant with a positive ROI. Such values may be used alone oraggregated through a linear combination or other similar aggregationmethod. Further explanation of such values and associated calculationsis provided by U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/770,174, titled“Method for Determining Provider Parameters Including a ProviderMargin,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/832,804, titled “Methodfor Determining Provider Parameters Including a Provider Margin,” whichare respectively incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The “Additional Spend” 116 selectable criteria include upsell amount118, which identifies the amount a customer spends on goods or servicesthat exceeds the value of the Groupon voucher. Based on analysis ofprevious Groupon voucher redemptions, it is estimated that customers onaverage spend 55% more than the value of their Groupon voucher.

The “Repeat Customers” 120 selectable criteria includes Return Rate %122 that identifies the percentage of new customers the merchanttypically attracts back to the merchant's business. Based on analysis ofrepeat customers, the system estimates that the return rate % 122 forcustomers whose arrival is prompted by purchasing a Groupon is similarto that of other new customers who come in.

The “Merchant Costs” 126 selectable criteria includes Food Cost % 128that identifies the incremental (variable) cost to produce the value ofthe Groupon voucher. With Groupon, this cost may be incurred when acustomer redeems his or her voucher. Average food and beverage costs mayrange from 28-35% of the purchase price.

The merchant's revenue (“Your Revenue”) 130 includes revenue from“Repeat Customer Revenue” 132, “Additional Spend Revenue” 134 and “YourGroupon Check” 136. As shown in FIG. 1, the ROI system calculates repeatcustomer revenue 132 using the following formula:

${{Repeat}\mspace{14mu} {Customer}\mspace{14mu} {Revenue}} = {{Unit}\mspace{14mu} {Cap} \times \frac{Customers}{Groupon} \times {Average}\mspace{14mu} {Check}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} 2 \times \left( {{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Rate}\mspace{14mu} \%} \right) \times \frac{{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Visits}}{Year}}$

In this example, with a unit cap of 100, 2 customers per Groupon, anaverage check for two of $60, a return rate of 10%, and 2 return visitsper year, the repeat customer revenue 132 of this example is100×2×60×10%×2, or $2,400.

Further, the ROI system calculates additional spend revenue 134 usingthe following formula:

Additional Spend Revenue=Unit Cap×Average Upsell

In this example, with a unit cap of 100 and an average upsell of $20,the additional spend revenue 134 of this example is 100×20, or $2,000.

Finally, the ROI system calculates Your Groupon Check revenue 136 usingthe following formula:

Your Groupon Check=Unit Cap×Merchant Share

In this example, with a unit cap of 100 and a merchant share of $10, theYour Groupon Check revenue 136 is 100×10, or $1,000.

Accordingly, the merchant's revenue 148 in this example is$2,400+$2,000+$1,000=$5,400.

The merchant's cost (“Your Cost”) 138 includes Repeat Revenue Cost 140,Additional Spend Cost 142, and Check Cost 144. The ROI system calculatesthe costs by multiplying the corresponding revenue by Food Cost % 128.Accordingly, the repeat revenue cost 140 is the repeat customer revenue132 multiplied by the Food Cost 128, or $2,400×35%=$840. The additionalspend cost 142 is the additional spend revenue 132 multiplied by theFood Cost 128, or $2,000×35%=$700. Finally, the check cost 144 is theYour Groupon Check revenue 136 multiplied by the Average Groupon Value108 multiplied by the Food Cost 128, or $1,000×$40×35%=$1,400.

Accordingly, the merchant's cost 150 in this example is$840+$700+$1,400=$2,940.

The ROI system calculates the merchant's profit (identified as “YourProfit” 146) as Your Revenue 148 (shown as $5,400) minus Your Cost 150(shown as $2,940), which equals Your Profit 152 (shown as $2,460).

The number of new customers 156 brought in by the promotion can becalculated by the ROI system as the unit cap 100 multiplied by thenumber of customers per Groupon, or 100×2=200. The investment percustomer 158 is the check cost 144 minus the Your Groupon Check cost 154divided by the number of new customers 156, or ($1,400−$1,000)÷200=$2.

Finally, the Return On Investment (ROI), which comprises the revenuegenerated by each dollar spent on marketing using promotions, can beviewed as a ratio of the merchant's revenue 148 to the Your GrouponCheck cost 154. With a revenue of $5,400 and total spent of $1,000, theROI system in this example produces a ROI 160 of $5,400: $1,000, or5.4:1.

The ROI system may automatically update each of the above calculationsand graphical representations as values are entered in the criteriafields and/or when the user selects the “update calculation” 162.

FIG. 2 shows a revenue and profit impact control interface 200 generatedby the ROI system for sales representatives. The sales representativemay control whether an ROI criteria is selectable (editable) by themerchant from the merchant's view. The sales representative may use therevenue and profit impact control interface 200 to lead a dialogue withthe merchant to determine a mutually agreeable ROI for the merchant. TheROI criteria values may be selected (e.g., by the sales representative)and/or automatically selected by the system based on the merchant,merchant type or some other criteria. Reference deal structures may beused to prefill the values to pre-populate the return on investmentcalculations. For example, the sales representative may select a defaultset of ROI criteria from a repository of promotion criteria 202. Thevalues entered by the merchant and/or the sales representative areadjusted on the graphical display in real-time. In this regard,functions described herein as real-time need not actually occur withoutany delay at all, but may occur without perceivable delay, or in otherwords, in substantially near real-time. In one such embodiment, thegraphical representation may be updated using a third party service(e.g., www.pusher.com, which may perform updates with an average delayof 5 milliseconds) that is responsive to values entered by the merchantand/or the sales representative. The system provides a way to build alive graphical representation of a return on investment calculationcollaboratively by a merchant and sales representative.

The sales representative view includes user selectable icons (e.g., 204,206, 208, 210) that may not be viewable or selectable by the merchant.For example, the sales representative view includes “lock” icons (e.g.,204, 206, 208) that can be toggled to lock or unlock a parameter. Asanother example, the data format of a field may be changed. For example,the “merchant share” may be represented as a percentage of the totalrevenue or a dollar amount for the “merchant share” data format, bytoggling icon 210.

The system provides mouse over 212 views for each of the sub-componentsof “Your Revenue” 130 (e.g., “repeat customer” 214, “additional spend”216, “merchant share” 218), “Your Cost” 132, and “Your Profit” 134calculations that display the calculations used to calculate the amountsin each category (130, 138, 146).

FIG. 2 a shows the merchant share 200A of revenue calculation. Themerchant share 200A of a revenue calculation may be calculated by theROI system using the inputs to the “Your Groupon Check” 102 criteria. Inthis regard, when MyCheck icon 220 is selected, the Revenue and ProfitImpact displays the resulting direct revenue impact 232 of implementingthe promotion. The merchant share 200A of revenue calculation also takesinto account the unit cap 112 (e.g., number of vouchers sold), theGroupon price 106 (e.g., price per voucher), the average Groupon value108 (e.g., value per voucher), the merchant share 114 (e.g., margin),and a credit card fee per transaction 228.

Accordingly, the ROI system calculates the direct revenue impact 232using the following formula:

MyCheck Revenue=Unit Cap×Groupon Price×Merchant Share×(1−Credit CardFee)

In this example, with a unit cap of 1000, a Groupon Price of $20, amerchant share of 50%, and a Credit Card Fee of 2.5%, the MyCheckrevenue 232 is 1000×20×0.5×(1−0.025), or $9,750. Because only theMyCheck icon 220 is selected, the overall merchant revenue 148 is shownbased only on the revenue calculation due to the promotion.

FIG. 2 b shows an interface that additionally factors in the revenuegenerated from upsells. Because MyCheck icon 220 is selected andAdditional Spend icon 222 is also selected, the ROI system calculatesthe impact of the merchant share 200B of revenue and also the revenuefrom the additional spend calculation. The merchant share of revenue andrevenue from Additional Spend 200B calculation may be calculated by theROI system using the inputs to the “Your Groupon Check” 102 criteria and“Additional Spend” 116 criteria. The merchant share 200B of revenuecalculation also takes into account the additional spend per voucher118.

The ROI system calculates the additional upsell revenue 234 using thefollowing formula:

Additional Spend Revenue=Unit Cap×Additional Spend Per Voucher

In this example, with a unit cap of 1000 and an additional spend pervoucher (118) of $11, the additional upsell revenue 234 is 1000×11, or$11,000. Accordingly, the overall merchant revenue 148 is calculated tobe $20,750, based on the MyCheck revenue 232 and the additional upsellrevenue 234.

FIG. 2 c shows an interfaced that additionally factors in the revenuefrom repeat customers generated by the promotion. Because MyCheck icon220, Additional Spend icon 222, and Repeat Customers icon 224 areselected, the merchant share 200C of revenue includes direct revenuefrom the promotion 232, from additional spend 234, and from repeatcustomer revenue 236. The merchant share of revenue from additionalspend and repeat customer revenue calculation 200C may be calculated bythe ROI system using the inputs to the “Your Groupon Check” 102criteria, “Additional Spend” 116 criteria and “Repeat Customer” 120criteria. The merchant share 200C of revenue calculation also takes intoaccount the average check for 2 104 (not shown in FIG. 2 c), the returnrate 122 and the return visits per year 124.

The ROI system calculates the repeat customer revenue 236 using thefollowing formula shown above with respect to repeat customer revenue132:

${{Repeat}\mspace{14mu} {Customer}\mspace{14mu} {Revenue}} = {{Unit}\mspace{14mu} {Cap} \times \frac{Customers}{Groupon} \times {Average}\mspace{14mu} {Check}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} 2 \times \left( {{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Rate}\mspace{14mu} \%} \right) \times \frac{{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Visits}}{Year}}$

In this example, with a unit cap of 1000, 2 customers per Groupon, anaverage check of $35, a return rate of 10%, and 1 return visit per year,the repeat customer revenue 236 is 1000×2×35×0.1×1, or $7,000.Accordingly, the overall merchant revenue 148 is calculated to be$27,750, based on the MyCheck revenue 232, the additional upsell revenue234, and the repeat customer revenue 236.

In addition, selection of the “Enable Groupon Rewards” icon 230 allowsfor a calculation of the impact of a rewards system on revenue.

FIG. 2 d shows revenue and costs 200D according to the merchant share,additional spend and repeat customer criteria, as calculated by the ROIsystem. Because MyCheck icon 220, Additional Spend icon 222, and RepeatCustomers icon 224 are selected, the revenue and costs 200D includesdirect revenue from the promotion 232, from additional spend 234, andfrom repeat customer revenue 236. Because Merchant Costs icon 226 isalso selected, the ROI system can further calculate the merchant costs150 and profit 152. The merchant costs (140, 142, and 144) arecalculated in the manner described above, and in this example amount to$20,300. Accordingly, the profit 152 comprises $7,450.

FIG. 2 d additionally shows the number of new customers 156, the netprofit 152, the investment per customer (cost per customer) 158, and thereturn on investment 160, calculated as described previously. Inaddition, FIG. 2 d displays to the user a comparison of advertisingcosts 238 of using the promotion versus using other traditional forms ofadvertising.

FIG. 3 shows a mobile device display interface 300. The system maycommunicate the ROI interface in a way to accommodate the display of themobile device. The sales representative may communicate the ROIcalculator to a mobile device of a merchant and the ROI calculatoradapts to the viewing area of the mobile device being used to view theROI calculator. For example, the graph may be displayed in the centerarea of the display (e.g., using two columns instead of three columns).Depending on the capability of the mobile device display interface, theROI system may collapse the “your cost” and “your profit” columns (seeitem 302), and may arrange information (e.g., 154, 156, 158, 160) sothat the information is easily viewable (see item 304).

FIG. 3 a shows another display interface 300 a for a mobile device suchas a tablet computing device.

FIG. 3 b shows one other display interface 300 b for a mobile devicesuch as a smart phone.

In some embodiments, the above-described features may be used to providemerchants with a rich source of relevant information about existingpromotions. In this regard, the ROI system may populate and present tomerchants a Merchant Impact Report, which enables the merchant toevaluate the performance of an existing promotion based on thepreviously described calculations, as well as additional data collectedby the ROI system.

FIG. 3 c shows an impressions interface 306 generated by the ROI systemthat may be presented to a merchant in connection with a selectedpromotion. The impressions interface 306 displays the number ofimpressions 308 of the promotion that are sent to promotion andmarketing service subscribers. In this example, the impressions are sentto subscribers via email, although other delivery mechanisms (such asthose described previously) are contemplated. For instance, theimpressions may be distributed using a mobile device application orwebsite.

Some fraction of subscribers receiving impressions may subsequentlypurchase the promotion. Because promotions are purchased from thepromotion and marketing service, the promotion and marketing service isable to compile demographic information regarding the subscribers whohave purchased the promotion and present such demographic information tothe ROI system as attributes of the promotion. Thereafter, the ROIsystem can calculate, based on the attributes of the promotion, thegender, age, and zip code of the subscribers who have purchased thepromotion.

Using the impressions interface 306, the ROI system is able to displayto the merchant a gender representation 310 of the gender of thecustomers who have purchased the promotion. For instance, the genderrepresentation 310 may include a percentage of customers who havepurchased the promotion that are male and a percentage of the customerswho have purchased the promotion that are female.

Similarly, the impressions interface 306 may display to the merchant anage representation 312. The age representation 312 may include the agesof customers who have purchased the promotion. In one embodiment, theage representation 312 may include a histogram showing a number ofcustomers who have purchased the promotion in one or more age ranges.

Using the impressions interface 306, the ROI system is able to displayto the merchant a representation 314 of the zip codes of the customerswho have purchased the promotion. This representation may include ahistogram showing a number of customers who have purchased the promotionfor each zip code. The representation 314 may also include a map showingthe zip codes of the customers who have purchased the promotion. In oneembodiment, the map is a cluster map, which places a circle over eachzip code of a customer who has purchased the promotion, and varies thesize of the circle based on the number of customers in the zip code.

Although impressions interface 306 may display demographic informationregarding subscribers who have purchased the promotion, the impressionsinterface 306 may additionally or alternatively display demographicinformation regarding subscribers to whom impressions have beendelivered (i.e., subscribers who have been sent an email advertising thepromotion).

FIG. 3 d shows a customers interface 316, generated by the ROI system,that may be presented to a merchant in connection with a selectedpromotion. The interface 316 displays the number of customers who haveredeemed the promotion 318. In addition, the customers interface 306 maydisclose the percentage of purchased promotions that have been redeemed320. Moreover, the promotion and marketing service may request that thecustomers who have redeemed the promotion 318 complete surveys abouttheir experience with the merchant. Based on the survey results, thecustomers interface 316 may display additional information to themerchant.

For instance, based on the survey results, the ROI system may calculatean average rating of the merchant. The customers interface 316 may thendisplay the average merchant rating 322 (using, for instance, a numberline or other similar graphical format). In one embodiment, thecustomers interface 316 may additionally display a percentage ofcustomers who would recommend the merchant's business to a friend.

Similarly, based on the survey results, the ROI system may determine thenumber of customers who were new to the merchant at the time ofredeeming the promotion and the number of customers that had not visitedthe merchant for a predetermined amount of time (such as three months)prior to redeeming the promotion. Accordingly, in one embodiment, thecustomers interface 316 may additionally display a chart 324 indicatinga percentage of customers who were new to the merchant at the time ofredeeming the promotion, a percentage of customers that had not visitedthe merchant for a predetermined amount of time prior to redeeming thepromotion, and a remaining percentage of customers.

In one embodiment, the ROI system may calculate, based on customerrewards information, an estimated percentage of new customers that willreturn to the merchant within a predetermined amount of time ofredeeming a voucher. In one embodiment, this information may be based onthe historical return rate of existing customers, tracked using customerrewards information. In another embodiment, it may be based on thenumber of customers that would receive an additional promotion forreturning. In yet another embodiment, the estimated percentage of newcustomers that will return is based on an evaluation of the pastbehavior of the new customers, as shown by the customer rewardsinformation. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the customers interface316 may additionally display the estimated percentage of new customersthat will return to the merchant within the predetermined amount of timeof redeeming a voucher 326 (using, for instance, a number line or othersimilar graphical format).

FIG. 3 e shows a revenue interface 328, generated by the ROI system,which may be presented to a merchant in connection with a selectedpromotion. The revenue interface 328 displays the financial impact ofthe promotion. For instance, it may display the revenue 330 generated bythe promotion so far. Revenue 330 may comprise the merchant's revenue148 as discussed previously. In addition, the customers interface 306may display a breakdown of the merchant's financial information 332.This information includes the merchant's revenue 148, merchant's cost150, and merchant's profit 152, calculated by the ROI system aspreviously described. In one embodiment, this financial information 332may be displayed as a histogram.

In another embodiment, the merchant's financial information 332 may beconfigurable when the merchant uses an input device to select the costeditor 334. The merchant may edits its cost (e.g., projected, estimated,or actual) using the cost editor 334. For example, in the depictedembodiment, the merchant may edit its cost from 11% (as shown) to 13%upon receiving notice that its cost of materials for certain rawmaterials have risen.

FIG. 3 f shows one example cost editor interface displayed by the ROIsystem upon merchant selection of the cost editor 334. The cost editorinterface enables the merchant to select the percentage of the cost ofeach promotion that goes towards marginal costs of fulfilling thepromotion. In one such embodiment, food cost 128, discussed previously,corresponds to the marginal cost selected using cost editor 334. Inother embodiments, food cost 128 may only be one of many factors that gointo a merchant's calculation of the marginal cost of fulfilling apromotion. In yet other embodiments (e.g., non-food serving embodimentssuch as spas, etc.), food cost 128 may not be relevant to the marginalcost of fulfilling the promotion.

In the depicted embodiment, the merchant may interact with the costeditor interface by manipulating slider 336 until the appropriatepercentage is displayed. Because the marginal cost of fulfilling apromotion is highly dependent upon the merchant and the promotionoffered, slider 336 enables a merchant to calculate these costs in anymanner, and need not force the merchant to use a preconfigured formula.For any given percentage selected using slider 336, the cost editorinterface may display the value of the promotion 338 and, based on thepercentage selected using slider 336, the interface may display themarginal cost of fulfilling each promotion 340. Based on the valueselected using slider 336, the merchant will be returned to the revenueinterface 328, which will present an updated breakdown of the merchant'sfinancial information 332, as recalculated by the ROI system in view ofthe changed marginal cost. For example, in connection with FIG. 3 e, theROI system may provide updated calculations for merchant cost 150 andmerchant profit 152 based on the newly edited cost information (e.g.,13%).

Using these additional Merchant Impact Report interface tools, the ROIsystem enables merchants to develop a much more sophisticatedunderstanding of the value provided by their promotions.

System Architecture

FIG. 4 shows a configuration 400 of the ROI system. The merchant 402 andsales representative 404 may calculate multiple ROI configurations andstore the ROI configurations for use (retrieval) in a promotionrepository 406 to build other promotions and/or use for comparison forconfiguring subsequent promotions. From the ROI sales representativeview, the sales representative may select, from previously calculatedpromotions, a default promotion for a merchant in order to initiate adialogue with the merchant. When the merchant and sales representativeagree to the parameters of the transaction (such as one or more fieldsin the “Your Groupon Check” section of FIG. 1), the ROI system maycommunicate, to another system, contract parameters (410) prefilledusing the ROI calculator calculation. The ROI system may also generatethe merchant deal page(s) (410) corresponding to the merchant'spromotion that is viewable by the public in order to purchase themerchant's promotion. For example, potential customers may purchase thetransaction via a website. In response to agreeing on the parameters ofthe transaction, the ROI system may generate a webpage for use on thewebsite that reflects the agreed parameters of the transaction. Further,the merchant and/or sales representative may review the webpage and makechanges. Similar to the determination of the parameters for thetransaction, the merchant (via the merchant computing device) and thesales representative (via the website representative computing device)may both make changes to the webpage.

Return On Investment System Operations

FIGS. 5-7 show example operations for generating merchant revenue, cost,profit, and ROI information. The ROI information depends upon revenue,cost, and profit related to a promotion, values which themselves mayvary based on the several attributes assigned to the promotion and onprojections forecasting expected customer engagement as a result of thepromotion, as will be described below.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of logic 500 of how merchant revenue iscalculated. In step 502, the system receives merchant criteriaselections. These selections may be received from the merchant or from asales representative of the promotion and marketing service whointeracts with the merchant. These selections comprise inputs indicativeof one or more attributes of the promotion, an upsell amount, and one ormore indicators of repeat business in response to the promotion. Theattributes may include the average check amount for two individuals, thevoucher price, the average voucher value, the number of customers pervoucher, a unit cap, a merchant share, a food cost percentage, a numberof impressions, and demographic information about the customers. Theindicators of repeat business may include return rate percentage andreturn visits per year. Using the received attributes, upsell amount,and indicators of repeat business, the merchant's revenue (shown as“Your Revenue” 130 in FIG. 1) is calculated based on revenue from“repeat customer revenue” 132, “additional spend revenue” 134 and “YourGroupon Check” 136 amount calculated based on the received criteria(e.g., merchant selected criteria).

In operation 504, the ROI system calculates, based on one or more of theattributes received in operation 502, a first amount indicative ofrevenue generated from the promotion. In one embodiment, the repeatcustomer revenue is calculated using the following formula (aspreviously described):

${{Repeat}\mspace{14mu} {Customer}\mspace{14mu} {Revenue}} = {{Unit}\mspace{14mu} {Cap} \times \frac{Customers}{Groupon} \times {Average}\mspace{14mu} {Check}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} 2 \times \left( {{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Rate}\mspace{14mu} \%} \right) \times \frac{{Return}\mspace{14mu} {Visits}}{Year}}$

In operation 506, the ROI system calculates, based on the upsell amountreceived in operation 502, a second amount indicative of revenuegenerated from promotion upsells. This second amount may compriserevenue generated from upsells attendant to administering the promotion.In one embodiment, this second amount is calculated using the followingformula (as previously described):

Additional Spend Revenue=Unit Cap×Average Upsell

In operation 508, the ROI system calculates, based on the one or moreindicators of repeat business received in operation 502, a third amountindicative of revenue generated from repeat business attendant toadministering the promotion. In one embodiment, the merchant's checkrevenue 136 is calculated using the following formula (as previouslydescribed):

Your Groupon Check=Unit Cap×Merchant Share

In operation 510, the merchant's revenue is determined from the first,second, and third amounts.

Subsequently, the ROI system calculates, based on the one or moreattributes of the promotion, a fourth amount indicative of costs fromthe promotion. In this regard, FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of logic 600of how this cost is calculated. In operation 602, the ROI systemreceives the merchant criteria selections. The merchant's total costincludes the repeat revenue cost, the additional spend cost, and themerchant's check cost. The costs may be calculated by multiplying thecorresponding revenue by the received food cost, as describedpreviously. Accordingly, in operation 604, the ROI system calculates therepeat revenue cost. In one embodiment, this calculation comprisesmultiplying the repeat customer revenue 132 by the Food Cost 128. Inoperation 606, the ROI system calculates the additional spend cost. Inone such embodiment, this calculation comprises multiplying theadditional spend revenue 132 by the Food Cost 128. In operation 608, theROI system calculates the merchant's check cost 144, which in oneembodiment comprises multiplying the Your Groupon Check revenue 136 bythe Average Groupon Value 108 and the Food Cost 128. Accordingly, inoperation 610, the ROI system determines the merchant's total cost byadding together the repeat revenue cost, the additional spend cost, andthe merchant's check cost.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram 700 describing an example mechanism by whichmerchant profit is calculated. In operation 702, the ROI system receivesthe merchant criteria selections. In operation 705, the ROI systemcalculates the merchant revenue. In one embodiment, the merchant revenueis calculated as shown above in operation 510. Subsequently, inoperation 706, the ROI system calculates the merchant cost. In oneembodiment, the merchant cost is calculated as shown above in operation610. Finally, in operation 708, the ROI system determines the merchantprofit. In this regard, the merchant's profit comprises the merchantrevenue minus the merchant cost.

In some embodiments, the ROI system subsequently generates (or updates)a graphical representation displaying the first, second, third, andfourth amounts. In one such embodiment, the graphical representationcomprises a first histogram representative of the first, second, andthird amounts, and a second histogram representative of the fourthamount. Examples of such graphical representations may be found in FIGS.1-3 b. The graphical representation may provide a forecast using apredictive wizard (i.e., software that automatically calculates outcomesbased on various inputs), analytics/demographics (e.g., historicalinformation), similar promotions, or any combination thereof. In somecases, this forecast may include expected profit, an expected number ofnew customers, an indication of the investment spent per new customer,or an indication of a ratio showing an expected return on investment(shown, for example, in FIG. 1, elements 152, 156, 158, and 160,respectively).

In some embodiments, the graphical representation may be a graphicaluser interface (GUI) with which the merchant and sales representativemay provide the inputs used in the above-described calculations andforecasts. In such embodiments, the ROI system may receive input fromthe sales representative to lock or unlock certain fields in theinterface and may allow off-line merchant manipulation of the graphicalrepresentation. Accordingly, the unified payment and ROI system maygenerate a real-time ROI as output for one or more promotions.

Payment System Operations

In addition to providing a ROI system that generates a real-time ROI asoutput for one or more promotions, in some embodiments the unifiedpayment and ROI system additionally determines a payment structure fordistributing revenue received from the sale of promotions to customers.The system supports a perpetual contractual arrangement with manyfeature periods. In this regard, a feature period may comprise a timeperiod during which a promotion is active (and after which vouchers forthe promotion expire). Accordingly, multiple feature periods may be usedfor each promotion. Payment is based on inventory sold during eachfeature period, rather than merchandising. The system further supports alimited contract. The system may regularly pay a merchant what is duethe merchant in total using a payment schedule, rather than sending lotsof payments on a seemingly random schedule.

As part of the this process, when vouchers for a promotion are sold in aparticular period of time, the promotion and marketing service may holdback a certain configurable percentage of the revenue received fromselling the vouchers (such as 20%), so that there's a buffer in thebank. This buffer can be used to protect the promotion and marketingservice from the monetary risk exposure when customers may seek torequest a refund of their voucher purchase. Although a single refundrequest may easily be handled by a promotion and marketing service,hundreds or thousands of refund requests may be difficult to fulfillwithout having large amounts of money in reserve. Moreover, there is noguarantee that merchants will refund their portion of the revenue to thepromotion and marketing service. Accordingly, without a holdback amount,the promotion and marketing service would have significant monetary riskexposure. Accordingly, the unified payment and ROI system maintains aholdback amount that is only distributed to merchants after the relevantrefund exposure has ended. In this regard, when vouchers expire, anyremaining revenue from the sale of the vouchers can be distributed tothe merchant. The holdback amount may depend on whether the level in thebuffer is static or dynamic, and the level may be based on the status ofthe underlying vouchers related to the buffer (i.e., whether they haveexpired).

This payment mechanism is flexible, simple, and easy to explain tomerchants, applicable to various products, and accounts for risk(refund, out-of-business, bad merchants, fraud). The payment mechanismis as attractive to merchants as the current payment grid, takesadvantage of automation (transparent Merchant Center), provides abackwards compatible architecture, accommodates promotions with nopredetermined ending, is cash flow neutral (e.g., if possible, butmerchant benefits may outweigh), and provides the ability to pay formultiple promotions in a single transaction.

The payment mechanism may make initial calculation assumptions. Forinstance, initial payments may be disbursed to merchants a predeterminedtime (e.g., seven days) after the start of a feature period; payment forsubsequently purchased vouchers may be forwarded on a recurring basis(e.g., the 1st and 16th of each month); and additionally, holdbackpayments for expired vouchers may be paid in the first recurring paymentdate after expiration of the vouchers (when these assumptions are nottrue, the average days until complete payment may be higher).Accordingly, with vouchers expiring after 180 days, 80% of the merchantshare of the voucher revenue will be received by the merchant with onlynominal delay, and 20% of the merchant share will be received by themerchant upon expiration of the vouchers (i.e., after 180 days), whichresults in complete payment for each voucher in an average of 36 days;with vouchers expiring after 90 days, there will be complete payment foreach voucher in an average of 18 days. Accordingly, the paymentmechanism provides business benefits, including: better merchantexperience, the removal of volume caps on a deal meter, the ability tohave a perpetual contract (with multiple feature periods),inventory-based payment rather than merchandising (feature periods),applicability to new products, and greater consistency of payments tomerchants (rather than sending lots of payments on a seemingly randomschedule).

In accordance with the above-described payment system, FIG. 7Aillustrates operations describing an example mechanism by which theunified payment and ROI system distributes, to a merchant, revenue fromsales of a promotion. In operation 710, the payment system receives anotice of sale of a promotion, the notice including a sale amount. Insome embodiments, this notice includes a total number of vouchers sold,and/or the total revenue received from sales of the vouchers. Inoperation 712, the payment system calculates, based on the sale amount,a holdback amount to hold in reserve, and a payment amount to distributeto a merchant. The holdback calculation is updated and documented toreflect inclusion of any new terms and the calculation reflects thescope of deployment of the new terms. In this regard, the holdbackamount and the payment amount are based on one or more of a configurablepercentage of the sale amount, an expiration date of the promotion, anumber of unredeemed vouchers, a length of a redemption period, avelocity of redemptions, a velocity of refunds, industry trends, acategory of promotion, and previous performance of the merchant.

In operation 714, the payment system generates a payment schedule fortransferring funds to the merchant. For each voucher, the paymentschedule may indicate a date on which to transfer the payment amount anda date on which to process the holdback amount. The date on which toprocess the holdback amount may be based on the expiration date of thepromotion. In one embodiment, an initial payment may be scheduled for aconfigurable number of days following the start of the feature period.Thereafter, payments may be forwarded on a recurring basis (e.g., the1st and 16th of each month).

In some embodiments, after the voucher's promotional value expires, theholdback amount (e.g., the remaining twenty percent) may be processedand any remaining balance is included with the next recurring payment.In this regard, processing the holdback amount includes determining anamount of money returned to consumers to fulfill refund requests, and,subtracting this refund amount from the holdback amount to calculate aremaining balance due to the merchant.

For example, each scheduled payment amount may consist of eighty percent(80%) of the total amount due to the merchant from the previous featureperiod. The merchant is informed that, for example, seven days after themerchant's campaign feature period begins, the merchant may expect toreceive a first payment for 80% of sales. Then, twice a month, themerchant will receive a payment for 80% of any additional sales for theperiod plus any remaining balance (20% for each period, less any otherrefunds) due as a result of the expiration of vouchers within thatperiod.

In one embodiment, in operation 716 the payment system may initiate atransfer of funds according to the payment schedule (note: the dashedlines indicate that this operation is optional). In this regard, thesystem may initiate a transfer of the payment amount to the merchantbased on the payment schedule. Similarly, the payment system mayinitiate a transfer of the remaining balance to the merchant based onthe payment schedule.

System Components

FIG. 8 shows configuration 800 of the unified payment and ROI system802. The unified payment system 802 may be deployed as a generalcomputer system used in a networked deployment. The unified paymentsystem 802 may represent a remote server or local mobile device of theuser. In other words, the unified payment logic may be executed by oneor more processors locally or remotely located. The computer system mayoperate as a server or as a client user computer in a server-client usernetwork environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The computer system may also beimplemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer,a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, aland-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimilemachine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance,a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions 810 (sequential or otherwise) thatspecify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment,the computer system may be implemented using electronic devices thatprovide voice, video or data communication. Further, while a singlecomputer system may be illustrated, the term “system” shall also betaken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system may include a processor 803, such as, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. Theprocessor may be a component in a variety of systems. For example, theprocessor may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation.The processor may be one or more general processors, digital signalprocessors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmablegate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits, analog circuits,combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices foranalyzing and processing data. The processors and memories 804 discussedherein, as well as the claims below, may be embodied in and implementedin one or multiple physical chips or circuit combinations. The processor803 may execute a software program 810, such as code generated manually(i.e., programmed).

The computer system 802 may include a memory 804 that can communicatevia a bus. The memory 804 may be a main memory, a static memory, or adynamic memory. The memory 804 may include, but may not be limited tocomputer readable storage media such as various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In onecase, the memory 804 may include a cache or random access memory for theprocessor. Alternatively or in addition, the memory 804 may be separatefrom the processor, such as a cache memory of a processor, the memory,or other memory. The memory 804 may be an external storage device ordatabase for storing data. Examples may include a hard drive, compactdisc (“CD”), digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card, memory stick,floppy disc, universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device, or any otherdevice operative to store data. The memory 804 may be operable to storeinstructions executable by the processor. The functions, acts or tasksillustrated in the figures or described herein may be performed by theprogrammed processor executing the instructions stored in the memory.The functions, acts or tasks may be independent of the particular typeof instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy andmay be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware,micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise,processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking,parallel processing and the like.

The computer system may further include a display 812, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flatpanel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), aprojector, a printer or other now known or later developed displaydevice for outputting determined information. The display 812 may act asan interface for the user to see the functioning of the processor, orspecifically as an interface with the software stored in the memory orin the drive unit.

Additionally, the computer system may include an input device 814configured to allow a user to interact with any of the components ofsystem. The input device may be a number pad, a keyboard, or a cursorcontrol device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen display,remote control or any other device operative to interact with thesystem.

The computer system may also include a disk or optical drive unit. Thedisk drive unit 808 may include a computer-readable medium 806 in whichone or more sets of instructions, e.g. software, can be embedded.Further, the instructions may perform one or more of the methods orlogic as described herein. The instructions may reside completely, or atleast partially, within the memory 804 and/or within the processorduring execution by the computer system. The memory 804 and theprocessor also may include computer-readable media as discussed above.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium 806 thatincludes instructions or receives and executes instructions responsiveto a propagated signal, so that a device connected to a network 816 maycommunicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over thenetwork 816. Further, the instructions may be transmitted or receivedover the network 816 via a communication interface 818. Thecommunication interface may be a part of the processor or may be aseparate component. The communication interface may be created insoftware or may be a physical connection in hardware. The communicationinterface may be configured to connect with a network, external media,the display, or any other components in system, or combinations thereof.The connection with the network may be a physical connection, such as awired Ethernet connection or may be established wirelessly as discussedbelow. Likewise, the additional connections with other components of thesystem 802 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly.In the case of a service provider server, the service provider servermay communicate with users through the communication interface.

The network may include wired networks, wireless networks, orcombinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMax network. Further, thenetwork may be a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

The computer-readable medium 806 may be a single medium, or thecomputer-readable medium 806 may be a single medium or multiple media,such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” may also include any medium that may becapable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions forexecution by a processor or that may cause a computer system to performany one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.

The computer-readable medium 806 may include a solid-state memory suchas a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. The computer-readable medium 806 also may be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium 806 may include a magneto-optical oroptical medium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device tocapture carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over atransmission medium. A digital file attachment to an email or otherself-contained information archive or set of archives may be considereda distribution medium that may be a tangible storage medium. Thecomputer-readable medium 806 may comprise a tangible storage medium. Thecomputer-readable medium 806 may comprise a non-transitory medium inthat it cannot be construed to refer to carrier signals or propagatingwaves. Accordingly, the disclosure may be considered to include any oneor more of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and otherequivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may bestored.

Alternatively or in addition, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, may be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments may broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that may be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system may encompass software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

The methods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, implementations may includedistributed processing, component/object distributed processing, andparallel processing. Alternatively or in addition, virtual computersystem processing maybe constructed to implement one or more of themethods or functionality as described herein.

Although components and functions are described that may be implementedin particular embodiments with reference to particular standards andprotocols, the components and functions are not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, andHTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations described herein are intended to provide a generalunderstanding of the structure of various embodiments. The illustrationsare not intended to serve as a complete description of all of theelements and features of apparatus, processors, and systems that utilizethe structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments maybe apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, suchthat structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, theillustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale.Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, whileother proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and thefigures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the description. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope is to be determined by the broadestpermissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

1-68. (canceled)
 69. An apparatus comprising at least one processor andat least one memory including computer program code, the at least onememory and the computer program code configured to, with the at leastone processor, cause the apparatus to: receive a notice of sale of apromotion, the notice including a sale amount; calculate, based on thesale amount, a holdback amount to hold in reserve and a payment amountto distribute to a merchant; and generate a payment schedule fortransferring funds to the merchant.
 70. The apparatus of claim 69,wherein the holdback amount and the payment amount are based on one ormore of a configurable percentage of the sale amount, an expiration dateof the promotion, a number of unredeemed vouchers, a length of aredemption period, a velocity of redemptions, a velocity of refunds,industry trends, a category of promotion, and previous performance ofthe merchant.
 71. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the paymentschedule indicates a date on which to transfer the payment amount and adate on which to process the holdback amount.
 72. The apparatus of claim71, wherein the computer readable instructions are further configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to initiate atransfer of the payment amount to the merchant based on the paymentschedule.
 73. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein the date on which toprocess the holdback amount is based on the expiration date of thepromotion.
 74. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein the computer readableinstructions are further configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the processor to process the holdback amount by: determining anamount of money returned to consumers; and calculating a remainingbalance by subtracting the refund amount from the holdback amount. 75.The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the computer readable instructionsare further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theprocessor to initiate a transfer of the remaining balance to themerchant.
 76. A method comprising: receiving a notice of sale of apromotion, the notice including a sale amount; calculating, based on thesale amount, a holdback amount to hold in reserve and a payment amountto distribute to a merchant; and generating a payment schedule fortransferring funds to the merchant.
 77. The method of claim 76, whereinthe holdback amount and the payment amount are based on one or more of aconfigurable percentage of the sale amount, an expiration date of thepromotion, a number of unredeemed vouchers, a length of a redemptionperiod, a velocity of redemptions, a velocity of refunds, industrytrends, a category of promotion, and previous performance of themerchant.
 78. The method of claim 76, wherein the payment scheduleindicates a date on which to transfer the payment amount and a date onwhich to process the holdback amount.
 79. The method of claim 78,further comprising initiating a transfer of the payment amount to themerchant based on the payment schedule.
 80. The method of claim 78,wherein the date on which to process the holdback amount is based on theexpiration date of the promotion.
 81. The method of claim 78, furthercomprising processing the holdback amount by: determining an amount ofmoney returned to consumers; and calculating a remaining balance bysubtracting the refund amount from the holdback amount.
 82. The methodof claim 81 further comprising initiating a transfer of the remainingbalance to the merchant.
 83. A computer program product comprising anon-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readableinstructions, the computer readable instructions configured, whenexecuted by a processor, to cause the processor to: receive a notice ofsale of a promotion, the notice including a sale amount; calculate,based on the sale amount, a holdback amount to hold in reserve and apayment amount to distribute to a merchant; and generate a paymentschedule for transferring funds to the merchant.
 84. The computerprogram product of claim 83, wherein the holdback amount and the paymentamount are based on one or more of a configurable percentage of the saleamount, an expiration date of the promotion, a number of unredeemedvouchers, a length of a redemption period, a velocity of redemptions, avelocity of refunds, industry trends, a category of promotion, andprevious performance of the merchant.
 85. The computer program productof claim 83, wherein the payment schedule indicates a date on which totransfer the payment amount and a date on which to process the holdbackamount.
 86. The computer program product of claim 85, wherein thecomputer readable instructions are further configured, when executed bythe processor, to cause the processor to: initiate a transfer of thepayment amount to the merchant based on the payment schedule.
 87. Thecomputer program product of claim 85, wherein the date on which toprocess the holdback amount is based on the expiration date of thepromotion.
 88. The computer program product of claim 85, wherein thecomputer readable instructions are further configured, when executed bythe processor, to cause the processor to process the holdback amount by:determining an amount of money returned to consumers; and calculating aremaining balance by subtracting the refund amount from the holdbackamount.
 89. The computer program product of claim 88, wherein thecomputer readable instructions are further configured, when executed bythe processor, to cause the processor to initiate a transfer of theremaining balance to the merchant.